-n a r u t o-

I walk upstairs and I go into my room. I was getting in some training when Mr. Hyuga told me to stop for now and change and tell Hinata to get up for breakfast with him.

I had not seen Hinata since yesterday when she locked up in her room. She had tears in her eyes and she had a visible bruise. I asked her what happened but she dismissed it and locked up.

It isn't that I care what she does but it does bother me to see when she is hurt, am I failing to do my job at protecting her?

I hear her door open and footsteps going down the hallway. Another door closes and I figure that she is now awake. I quickly change out of my clothes and into my uniform and I stand in my doorway. Several minutes later, she exits the bathroom and she walks with her head down.

"Ms. Hyuga." I call out to her but she walks passed me. "Ms. Hyuga, look up." I say in frustration and I grab her arm. A gasp escapes her mouth and I pull her in front of me. I raise her head and my eyebrows furrow when I see the dark colored bruise on her cheek.

I lightly run a finger over it and she winces and turning her head away. Anger courses through my body and I clench my fists. "Who did this? Your father?" I ask her and she frowns. "It doesn't matter, you can't do anything about it anyways." She pulls out of my grasp and starts to walk off but I follow behind her.

Why do I even care?

"Why are you still here?" She asks me as I step into her room. I step forward and I gently grab her face before turning it. "Why?" I ask her and she sighs. "You. I get all of this for you." She says and a feeling of guilt washes over me.

Why do I feel bad? I don't even like her...

"I should-" I turn to the door but get cut off when Hinata puts a hand on my face. "Please Naruto-kun, don't make it any worse than it is." She whispers and I clench my jaw before inhaling and nodding.

This isn't right. It's because of me too.

"He wants you downstairs for breakfast. He sent me to get you." I say in a low tone. She nods and I walk out so she can change her clothes. Her door opens and she steps out before going to the stairs. I follow behind her and we go down and into the dining room.

Mr. Hyuga sits at the table and there is different food around. "Hinata, it is so nice to see you are joining us." He says and I frown at the act. Hinata takes a seat to his right and I sit down next to her.

"Good morning father." She gives a fake smile and he smiles back until he looks at her face. "Hinata, why isn't that covered up?" He asks and I look over to her. She continues to mess with the plate of food and he clears his throat.

"Hinata, I asked you a question, I expect an answer." He says in a stern tone and she turns to him. "Why would I cover it up? It isn't bothering me father." She says and I turn to face her. Mr. Hyuga tenses up and he glares at her. "Hinata, I would prefer if you covered it." He says and his glare returns to the bruise on her cheek. She gives a smile and then raises her voice. "I should cover it up like you do with everything. Everyone knows what happened anyways so what's the point father." She says and he groans before standing up and slamming a hand onto the table. His eyes are full of anger and the room gets quiet.

"You're really pushing it you know." He says through gritted teeth and she just smiles. Suddenly, he rushes to her and he pulls her up from her chair and his hand raises. I quickly stand up and without thinking, I grab his arm, stopping him from hitting her again. He looks at me and then something burns in his eyes.

He grabs something from the table and my eyebrows raise for a quick second when I see it's a knife. "Every time! You come in the way of everything! I should just kill you!" He yells and I put Hinata behind me. "Mr. Hyuga, calm down. There are better ways to resolve this. I am only telling the truth and you know that." I say, putting my hands up in surrender.

"Just get out of here please." He says before putting the knife down and sitting down, putting his head in his hands. I take Hinata's hand and I walk towards the doors. "Of course. Today isn't the day anyways." I say with a smirk before exiting with Hinata.

We walk towards the entrance and we go outside. I pull out my keys and I unlock the car. "Where are we going?" She asks and I turn to face her. She stares at our intertwined hands and I pull mine away. "Sorry about that, but we are going to get something to eat, Ms. Hyuga. Aren't you hungry?" I ask her and she nods. "What about my father?" She asks and I roll my eyes. "What about your father? He wanted us to leave so that's what we are doing. Now get in already." I say and I open the door for her. I close it and I go in my side.

I start the car and I look over to Hinata. "Where do you want to go?" I ask her and she shrugs her shoulders. "Just keep driving until we end up somewhere." She says and I nod before driving out.

I take a different road than usual and we drive for a good ten minutes before I turn and we end up in a small town. I slow down and I pull in front of a small diner. I park the car and we get out before going to the door. We walk in and some guys turn around before staring at Hinata. She doesn't notice them, but I decide to take her hand in mine and I glare at them until they turn away. We go to a booth in the corner and I look around.

A waitress comes over to us and she pours coffee into two cups before saying she'll be back and disappearing into the kitchen.

I look over to Hinata who is smiling and I give her a questioning look. "What are you smiling so much for?" I ask her and she shakes her head. "It doesn't matter Naruto-kun... Naruto." She sighs and I reach over before poking her.

What the hell am I doing? What's gotten into me?

"Tell me Ms. Hyuga. I would like to know." I say and I give her an uninterested look. She starts to laugh and I feel the ends of my lips tugging upwards. I force them down and she rests her head onto a hand.

"This reminds me a lot of our first date. It doesn't matter though..." She trails off and she frowns before tracing her finger along the table. I sigh and I take a sip of the coffee before cringing. I take another sip before putting it down and the waitress comes back before taking our orders.

The waitress walks away and we sit in silence. A bell chimes and I look at the door seeing the group of guys leaving. Good, they won't be a bother to Hinata now.

After some time, the waitress brings our plates of food and we start to eat. I look at Hinata but she keeps her gaze outside. We finish our food and we sit there for a little before I get up.

"You're paying right Ms. Hyuga?" I ask and her eyes widen. "What? I didn't walk out with any money." She says and I give her a shocked look. "I thought you were. Ms. Hyuga, how do you want to go out to eat but you don't have money?" I ask her and she frowns. I cross my arms and I shake my head. "I can't believe you Ms. Hyuga. How irresponsible are you?" I mess with her and she sighs.

We walk towards the door and I place money on the counter. "Let's go now." I tell her and her eyes widen again. "That's not funny Naruto!" She whines as we walk to the car and I smirk.

We get into the car and I start it. I look over to Hinata who has her arms crossed and her lip pouted. "Why are you still upset? I took you out on our second date, didn't I?"

-to be continued-

Hey! I have updated after a long and painful break, hiatus, whatever...

How was the chapter? This is the twenty-eighth chapter!

It's been a while so I did plan a gift for you all. I have two or three updates for each book and then a short story or two!

This is still work in progress though so I will try to have it all done today.

I will not be taking any other breaks that I know of but I will be updating again on the regular.

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Leave some feedback!

~Anna